Sugar cane burning is necessary

Published: Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 1:43 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 1:43 p.m.

The billowing white plumes of smoke that rise from sugar-cane fields this time of year are a reminder of our strong agricultural industry.

They are also environmental annoyances that do everything from burning sensitive eyes to irritating sinuses.

And, according to farmers and scientists, they are a necessary evil — at least for now.

“Field burning removes all post-harvest trash left on the soil surface,” said Windell Jackson, senior agronomist with the American Sugar Cane League. “Leaving the cut sugar cane leaves to compost on the ground prevents the sun from heating up the soil. Leaving mulch in the field keeps the soil damp and promotes fungus and other plant disease growth — diseases that damage and kill the sugar cane root.”

While that explains why the situation is as it is, future improvements on the current system are possible.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Station in Houma say they are looking for a way to remove the threat to future crops without creating an environmental hazard or an undue expense for the farmers.

That sounds like a good avenue of discovery. Unfortunately, they haven't come up with that critical improvement just yet.

The ideas they've looked at so far include using heartier plants that can withstand the difficulties the remaining mulch presents and ways of removing the plant matter without having to burn it.

Nothing yet, though, has proven better than the current method.

Part of the problem, of course, is that homes, subdivisions, shopping centers and other signs of urban sprawl have steadily encroached into the sugar-cane fields.

That means that people are closer to those fields more often than they were in the past. So irritants such as smoke can be more disruptive to the general public.

Farmers, though, say they do what they can to minimize the impact of their necessary burning.

“We don't burn cane fields near hospitals, nursing homes and schools when students are present,” said farmer and Sugar Cane League President Wallace Ellender. “We remove the mulch from those fields by mechanical methods. It costs us a little more, but we're trying to make sure patients aren't disturbed.”

The solution here is still missing. We must wait for a generations-old practice to be further refined by the people who know the most about it.

That hasn't happened yet, but there is every reason to think that the folks who work the soil will find a way.

<p>The billowing white plumes of smoke that rise from sugar-cane fields this time of year are a reminder of our strong agricultural industry.</p><p>They are also environmental annoyances that do everything from burning sensitive eyes to irritating sinuses.</p><p>And, according to farmers and scientists, they are a necessary evil — at least for now.</p><p>“Field burning removes all post-harvest trash left on the soil surface,” said Windell Jackson, senior agronomist with the American Sugar Cane League. “Leaving the cut sugar cane leaves to compost on the ground prevents the sun from heating up the soil. Leaving mulch in the field keeps the soil damp and promotes fungus and other plant disease growth — diseases that damage and kill the sugar cane root.”</p><p>While that explains why the situation is as it is, future improvements on the current system are possible.</p><p>Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Station in Houma say they are looking for a way to remove the threat to future crops without creating an environmental hazard or an undue expense for the farmers.</p><p>That sounds like a good avenue of discovery. Unfortunately, they haven't come up with that critical improvement just yet.</p><p>The ideas they've looked at so far include using heartier plants that can withstand the difficulties the remaining mulch presents and ways of removing the plant matter without having to burn it.</p><p>Nothing yet, though, has proven better than the current method.</p><p>Part of the problem, of course, is that homes, subdivisions, shopping centers and other signs of urban sprawl have steadily encroached into the sugar-cane fields.</p><p>That means that people are closer to those fields more often than they were in the past. So irritants such as smoke can be more disruptive to the general public.</p><p>Farmers, though, say they do what they can to minimize the impact of their necessary burning.</p><p>“We don't burn cane fields near hospitals, nursing homes and schools when students are present,” said farmer and Sugar Cane League President Wallace Ellender. “We remove the mulch from those fields by mechanical methods. It costs us a little more, but we're trying to make sure patients aren't disturbed.”</p><p>The solution here is still missing. We must wait for a generations-old practice to be further refined by the people who know the most about it.</p><p>That hasn't happened yet, but there is every reason to think that the folks who work the soil will find a way.</p><p>Editorials represent the opinions </p><p>of the newspaper, not of any individual.</p>